"Ghetto" Exercising

I worked at a residential teen treatment facility for many years. I loved and love those kids. I vividly remember the first day I worked there, a young buck not far past high school. I was sitting in the cafeteria eating dinner, and making a valiant attempt to cut through my chicken cordon bleu with a plastic fork. Obviously trying to cut too aggressively, my plastic fork suddenly broke in two. A young lady across the table from me got a hissy look on her face, rolled her eyes, and said "Ugh. That's so ghetto."

I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. Was she from the ghetto? Was my fork ghetto? Was the chicken cordon bleu ghetto? Was I ghetto? To this day, I don't know exactly was "ghetto".

The definition I gleaned over the years was that "ghetto" is kind of make-shift, cheap, less than, and just not very good.

I recently started giving my arms a little exercise, since they are, well, fairly scronny. The moral of the story is that the weights I lift are...ghetto. Two gallons of Wal-Mart distilled water. The thing is, I don't care that it's ghetto. It's convenient, and I don't have to try to make time to go to the gym. And if I get really thirsty, I have an ample supply of beverage right in my hands.

Visit With The Orthopedic

I met with my orthopedic doctor, Dr. Andruss today to get his thumbs-up before I really go at this thing gung-ho. The only concern I've had in my pursuit to run the St. George Marathon is my really crappy knees. When my knees bend, the knee caps are pulled off to the side and rub against the groove which makes them pretty sore. Dr. Andruss said I should be okay as long as I continue to strengthen the muscles around the knee, don't push my training too much, and "avoid him like the plague".

I also have this pesky little bump on my right knee that is about the size of an unshelled almond. I wanted to get that checked out too. This bump didn't show up on the x-rays so he thinks it's just a cartilage growth which can be easily removed if it starts causing hassles. I prefer to avoid any cutting, stitches, blood, or unnecessary whining about pain unless necessary so we'll just keep an eye on things.

New Shoes

New shoes from St. George Running Center (Saucony Guide).....$95.00

Special microfiber socks that wick away moisture and prevent blisters.....$7.95

Superhero cheetah speed that makes people say "Was that a lightning bolt or a gangly nerdy white boy that just ran past?".....Priceless